Inter Canem et Lupum Remastered
by exacerbatedEmbarrassment
Summary: [redo of old story holla holla] Ryou Bakura's life is not simple. After waking up in distantly familiar territory called Privet Drive and witnessing a dementor attack, he is mistaken for a wizard and evacuated from the area, throwing him into a twist of plots he doesn't understand. Add in a magic school and the spirit of the millenium ring and you get one confused Bakura.
1. Chapter 1

5/9/14

Hey what's up doggs just me here chillin writing nerdy as fuck fanfiction instead of writing an essay that was due last week holla

Real quick this is a re-write of a fic I wrote way back in 2010 because it's throwback Thursday holla holla and people seemed to like it

Yeah so the spirit of the hella ring is gonna be more of a byronic hero than a villain as he was in baby inter canem et lupum because I have grown to love tendershipping with an incredible passion despite my previous hatred for it

Anyway here's my shit swagg

Nothing made sense. But then again, nothing ever did and Ryou Bakura should probably have been used to it. Things not making sense, that is.

Putting a clammy hand to his pounding head, Ryou allowed a soft "ugh..." to escape from his disused windpipe, slowly pulling himself up from where he found himself laying in a dark, damp alley. As he carefully climbed to his feet, Ryou attempted to discern what exactly had happened and where exactly he was.

Ryou Bakura knew the protocol by heart.

First thing to do in situations like these, of course, is to check for injuries.

Alright, seems like appendages and phalanges are all accounted for. Face is a little sticky. Muscles sore. Hungry. Tired. Very hungry.

Next, make sure the scene is safe.

Ryou scanned the alley, making sure he was alone. Dim light from street lamps nearby illuminated his disgusting predicament; his biggest immediate threat was broken bottles.

Once the scene has been deemed safe, get to familiar territory.

This was the tricky part. Stumbling out of the alley, Ryou grasped at the brick wall he woke up propped up against and nearly ran into a burly man apparently on a midnight stroll.

"Watch where yer goin', mate!" The man spat. In English. After shooting Ryou a condemning glance, the man continued on his way.

He spat. In English.

Fuck.

Ryou was officially panicking. He was spoken to in a distinctly British accent, one he hadn't heard in years, and the only reasonable conclusions he could dredge up were that either he stumbled into a foreigner (unlikely given the time of year; winter in Japan wasn't terribly popular), or he had been dragged to Europe. Ryou was much more inclined to believe the latter.

Reeling in a deep breath, the whitenette tried to stand up a little straighter in the half-light of dim street lamps to appear less conspicuous as he took baby steps toward the nearest intersection. Street names were a good place to start in pinpointing location.

As it happened, Ryou was next to a corner store just outside of a rather wealthy looking neighbourhood.

The street sign read "March Ave." which ruled out quite a few countries and territories. What bothered Ryou, though, was how eerily familiar everything seemed. And then the memories hit him in a wave.

His parents, both alive and happy, his little sister, also very much with the living and very much happy, together with him in a little house on a street called Privet Drive. Going to the corner store for ice cream in the summer. Laughing in the yard, playing games with friends. Waking up surrounded by unresponsive friends. Getting slapped by his father for doing it again. Packing bags in a whirlwind, being thrown into a car.

Then the sounds of metal scraping and bending. Crying. Bones breaking. Blood.

Ryou shuddered and shook his head. He had to stay calm. Panic would only kill him faster.

If he remembered correctly, his father never sold the house on Privet Drive. Too many memories were stored inside to hand off to a stranger. How lucky for him, then, to have been body dropped so close to an old home. The spirit must have rifled through his memories more.

Once again taking in a deep breath, Ryou began his small journey.

Everything looked the same. The same cookie cutter houses with the same cookie cutter trees in the same cookie cutter lawns. But he knew he would be able to pick his old home out from the rest. His, after all, would be in a state of disrepair as it was highly unlikely that his father had bothered to hire any maintenance.

His assumptions were correct. The lawn appeared to have been mowed a month or so ago, probably by an irritated neighbour, tired of the rickety house uglying up the street. A few windows were broken. Some kind of bird had made a few nests along the siding out of mud; a barn swallow, perhaps. A wasp nest hung from a corner. Leaves had collected in the gutters, and the once cheerful yellow of the house had faded to a dismal beige.

There was still a dent in the siding from where Amane's body had been launched from the car.

Shuddering, Ryou carefully opened the screeching gate and padded silently up to the front door. Time for muscle memory to do its job. It only took Ryou a minute or so to pick the lock on the door, and even less to close and relock it behind him.

The living room looked exactly as it had when he left, only the furniture was covered in dusty white sheets. Ryou couldn't care less at the moment. He tore the sheet off of the couch sitting in the middle of the room and collapsed onto his new bed, trying his best to fall asleep.

Harry Potter was miffed.

He had spent all summer either alone in his bedroom or alone at the park and the only word he received from his so-called "friends" was the occasional non-committal letter. He had gotten nothing from Dumbledore.

Glancing about his room, he disinterestedly took in his Hogwarts trunk, still packed from the moment he returned to the Dursleys' at the beginning of summer.

Harry Potter was angry, yes, but most of all he was bored.

Well. Shacking up in his rather bland bedroom would do him no good. It was time for his daily walk anyway.

Harry pulled on his regular jeans and oversized hand-me-down t-shirt and jogging shoes and quietly left the house uninterrupted, deciding on his regular route to the local park.

The first thing Harry noticed upon stepping outside was that it was hot as bloody hell. Briefly considering turning back inside to take a nap or something, the boy quickly turned that train of thought down as his only other option, really, was to be screamed at by his family. Onward he went.

Although trees lined the sidewalk, they were rather young and were just small enough to not produce any notable shade. The Boy-Who-Lived tried to milk temperature relief from them nonetheless. In any case, there were ample trees at his park, especially over his favorite swing to look forward to.

With a soft sigh of relief, Harry came to the entrance to the park and was approaching his swingset when he stopped dead in surprise.

There, in the swing he usually sat in himself, was a rather odd figure. All Harry could see was a slim physique and flowing, long white hair that tumbled over narrow shoulders. Piano hands gripped the chains suspending the swing tightly as whoever this person was mumbled to themselves. Nearly skeletal arms found their way from the hands and into the pale blue sleeves of what appeared to be, at least from the back, a button up shirt. Similar legs hung limply to the ground, hugged by gray nearly-skinny jeans. Harry decided without question that this new, unfamiliar person was a rather pretty girl.

A rather pretty girl who had never met him, and therefore did not know what a freak he was.

As a lonely teenage boy whose friends had abandoned him far away, Harry was ready to jump at the chance of new friendship.

"Um, hi," he began, slightly nervous. The figure started and turned, revealing large (albeit somewhat vacant) doe brown eyes and a rather gaunt, androgynous face. "I haven't seen you around before. You wouldn't have happened to move into that old yellow house?" Good, very normal.

Staring wide-eyed at Harry, the girl nodded shortly. "Y-yes. I lived there when I was very young, and decided to come back for a visit." Standing up and turning around ('she's even flatter than Ginny!'), she held out her hand. "I'm Ryou Bakura."

Taking her long fingers, Harry replied with a "Harry. Harry Potter." Just in time to hear his burly cousin and his goons approaching, already jeering.

"Well, well, Potty! Looks like you've found yourself a girlfriend. And she's just as much of a freak as you! What a perfect match." The goons laughed hysterically, spittle flying from their lips. Both Harry and Ryou spluttered indignantly.

"G-girlfriend?" Ryou screeched. With a scowl reminiscent of the spirit etched onto his face, he spat, "I'm not a girl!" And with that, he stomped off in the direction of his new home.

After staring in shock for several moments, the rowdy group of boys plus Harry turned to eachother with malice in their eyes.

"Well! I didn't know you were a faggot, Potty!" Jeered Dudley. "Can't say I'm too surprised."

"Shut up, Dudley. You know perfectly well that that isn't true." Harry ground out, trying to act civil lest he lose his temper.

A short, one-sided scuffle ensued in which Harry received a bloody nose (though thankfully not broken) and the brutes escaped unscathed. Once the excitement had been drained from the situation, Dudley Dursley's friends dispersed.

"Sorry, Big-D. I gotta go before my mum calls the cops on me again," said one remorsefully. A chorus of "yeah"s and "me too"s arose.

And then there were two.

Dudley managed to open his mouth before the clouds came in, dark and cold. A feeling of complete devastation fell upon the two boys, both of whom grew pale in the sudden darkness. Harry knew what this feeling was; he had felt it before.

"Dudley, we have to run! Now!" Harry screamed, grabbing his whale of a cousin's wrist and taking off down through the park and down the road. In his surprise, Dudley allowed the contact and dumbly followed.

The pair sprinted through the street beneath flickering street lamps and came to a well lit tunnel. Stopping for breath, panting, Harry leant against the concrete wall and glanced at his cousin. He knew they couldn't hide forever, but hoped he had bought them enough time for a wizard to notice what was happening.

He should have known he was never that lucky.

Ryou stomped down the street, thoroughly pissed at the recent turn of events. He didn't really look that feminine, did he? Maybe it was time to cut his hair...

No. He refused, pushing that thought to the furthest reaches of his mind. He would never even come close to being bald.

Just as he was about to turn the corner onto his street, a deep chill came over him. Dark gray clouds washed over the sky, obscuring the setting sun and punting him into darkness. He suddenly felt compressed and alone, suffocating.

From somewhere in his head, Ryou heard a shout of "Run! Host, move your ass!" and took off without question.

He came to a stop next to a tunnel when he heard a scream. Peering around the corner, Ryou saw some kind of ghostly shade hovering over the fat kid, Harry shakily pointing a stick at it. Before he could do anything, however, a second mystery monster decended from above and made to move for Ryou.

The effects were immediate. Every horrible thing that had ever happened, every betrayal by friends, every blow and accusation from his father, every instant of pain and loneliness he had ever experienced suddenly washed over him. Giving a soft cry, Ryou stumbled back and unconsciously retreated to the relative safety of his soul room.

The spirit was left to deal with the mess his host had gotten them into.

Actively shutting the effects of the monster out of his mind, the spirit clenched his fists and opened a connection to the shadow realm, allowing the shadows to spring up and circle around his feet with what could have been construed as adoration. The dementor seemed to flinch back in panic as the spirit threw out his arm and silently commanded the shadows to attack. This panic was short-lived, however, as the lance of shadow pierced its flittering cloak. The dementor evaporated into a dark mist, almost invisible in the darkness.

He was finished with the monster just in time to glance back over at Harry, who was shaking even more violently. The boy screamed something that sounded like "expect a patron," leaving Bakura confused for only a second before a spectral stag leapt from Harry's stick. The effect was immediate. The monster fled the scene in terror, leaving Harry to fall back onto his elbows, gasping for breath. The other boy was on all fours, puking up the contents of his stomach.

"Ryou...?" Harry said in shock. Bakura grinned, realizing his beloved shadows were still swirling around his legs, carressing his ankles.

Luckily, a rather stout woman made her entrance at that moment from the other end of the tunnel and quickly began to fuss over Harry, introducing herself as Mrs. Figg. Bakura vaguely recognized her from Ryou's memories, and took his chance to make his exit.

After returning to Ryou's house, the spirit relinquished control, quickly losing interest. In stumbled his hikari, feeling just as bad as he had before the spirit had taken over. Walking shakily toward his couch, Ryou managed to fall roughly onto the cushions before tossing and turning in a fit of half-sleep and nightmares.

Needless to say, Ryou was awake before the sun. Still feeling like he had been run over by an emotional truck and then pummeled by a feelings train, he stayed in bed. And stayed in bed some more. Eventually, the sun was tired of watching his lazy ass and began to set, and still, Ryou had not moved.

/Hikari, please get up./ The spirit tried once more to shake Ryou from his stupor. With a flash, he exited the Ring and took on an incorporeal state, one only his light could see. Waving a transparent hand in front of Ryou's eyes, the spirit continued to yell insults and encouragement alike before the seldom blinking gaze of the other. /By the gods, you're just as bad as the Pharoah, aren't you?/ He finally shouted in exasperation. /Lazy, weak, and certainly not worth my fucking time!/ That seemed to have an effect on Ryou.

With a sniffle, the boy finally broke down in tears and, turning away from the spirit, choked out, "I know! Bakura, I get it!"

Now Bakura just felt bad. /Hey, I didn't mean it,/ he said uncertainly, /just. Calm down, okay?/ His host was never so weak. Something was definitely causing this.

Just then, a hesitant knock came from the door not ten feet away. "Ryou?" A voice called. "Um. Are you alright? I think we should talk about yesterday." The voice called. Bakura identified it as that Harry kid.

/Host, get up! Your friend is at the door!/ Finally ceasing crying, Ryou turned back around on the couch and weakly called out, "go 'way."

"Listen!" Harry yelled through the door. "What you're probably feeling right now is an effect of the dementors, the monsters you saw last night. I can help, you just have to let me in."

Sighing heavily, Ryou swung his legs over off of the couch and stood up unsteadily, taking baby steps toward the door. Cracking it open, he looked out at Harry, who was smiling nervously.

"Come in." Ryou said flatly.

"Thanks, um." After taking in Ryou's thoroughly disheveled appearance, Harry took a chocolate bar out of his pocket and offered it to the other boy. "I think you need this more than I do." At Ryou's flat look, he added, "It's weird, but it helps a ton. Just try it."

Sighing again (he sure was doing a lot of that lately) Ryou took the candy bar and treated himself to a small nibble. Instantly, a great deal of the depression lifted and he finally realized how ravenous he was; he hadn't eaten in over a day.

Downing the rest of the chocolate, Ryou smiled greatfully at Harry. "You're right, that is weird." He gave an embarrassed giggle. "Oh! Let me get you some tea. Sit down!"

Harry, too, laughed nervously and sat down. "I don't know what it is about chocolate that reverses the effects of the dementors. Magic, I guess. Speaking of," Harry began as Ryou walked back in after putting a kettle on the stove, "I'm sure you're pretty confused right now."

Ryou smiled. "I've seen stranger things."

"Oh, so you're a wizard then?" Harry was surprised, though he supposed he shouldn't have been given his new friend's rather strange appearance. "I thought I was the only one in this neighbourhood."

"I wasn't aware magic was this common. Common being relative, of course."

"Wait, have you never been to school?" The thought of an untrained wizard was odd, to say the least. Certainly not something he had ever heard of.

Ryou cocked his head and looked at Harry, thoroughly confused. "There are schools that teach magic? To children?" The magic he was familiar with was violent, unstable, and dangerous. Nothing he would ever entust to a child.

"Well, yeah. Everyone who has magic needs to go. They send out letters through some kind of detection system, I think. No one ever gets missed."

Ryou nodded slowly. This was news to him, and from the skeptical gaze the spirit was shooting Harry, it was to him as well. "I suppose there's a first time for everything."

"So do you not have a wand? Can you do wandless magic?" Harry asked curiously.

"Um. You use wands?" It wasn't making any sense. "Is that what that was, with the deer?"

"Stag, yeah."

"Maybe we're not talking about the same thing," Ryou mumbled to himself. "Maybe there are different kinds of magic? Maybe their's is more evolved?"

Having caught most of what the whitenette said, Harry raised a single eyebrow. "I've never heard of anything like that."

The two sat in silence for a moment before the forgotten kettle shrieked. Shooting up, Ryou quickly walked into the open kitchen and poured tea for the both of them. Tea had, of course, been the first thing he bought the morning after waking up there.

Setting both cups down on the coffee table, Ryou sat down himself and looked questioningly at Harry.

"So. What exactly can this magic of yours do?"

Harry thought for a minute. "You can levitate things, transfigure things, shoot offensive spells and counter them with defensive spells... basically anything, really. Why? What can you do?"

"I can..." Ryou paused. What should he tell him? Figuring he had nothing to lose, he said, "I can control the shadows, but that's pretty much it."

That settled it. They were definitely not talking about the same thing.

"What does that mean?"

/Don't give him anything else, host./ The spirit appeared beside him, and Ryou tried to hide his surprise by acting like his tea was too hot.

Ryou shrugged carefully. "Maybe I'll show you one day." He was definitely not going to show him anything, but Harry seemed to accept his answer.

They finished their tea in relative silence, both their shoulders heavy with questions but neither of them willing to ask. Harry stood up after a moment.

"It's getting pretty late. I should probably go." He said, pointing absently toward the door.

"Yes, I would hate to have someone worried about you." Ryou smiled brightly. "Thank you so much for stopping by."

Harry smiled back. "Yeah, it was fun." He then left the odd boy to his night.

Harry awoke with a start. Someone was in his house.

Looking over toward his bedside table, he found the clock to read 2:35 AM. Optimal burglary hour. Silently drawing his wand, Harry got out of bed and positioned himself against the wall beside his door. Years of DADA had prepared him for this moment, and he would not disappoint.

He heard several pairs footsteps coming up the stairs, and soon after, voices.

"Merlin's beard, you'd think they were trying to hide a body with all these locks!" Came a faintly familiar voice, muffled by the door. Harry tensed when he heard the same voice mutter "Alohamora," followed by the sound of a variety of locks clicking out of place. The door slowly creaked open.

"Professor Lupin?" Harry cried, gears turning in his head. "Please tell me you're going to take me away from here!"

Lupin jumped, startled by hearing Harry's voice so close to him. "Goodness, Harry, you scared me." Placing a hand to his chest, he continued, "Yes. We need to take you to Padfoot's house to prepare for your trial.

"Trial...?" Harry asked, unsure.

"We'll explain later. For now, we need to leave; it's not safe here anymore."

More confused than ever, Harry looked at the small group of wizards clustered around his door. Lupin, a woman with bubblegum pink hair, a dark skinned man, and someone who he recognized immediately.

Noticing his surprise and distrust, Moody grinned widely at the boy. "I'm the real one, this time, boy. No need for all the suspicion."

Harry had no time to reply as he was pushed to grab his belongings and his trunk. The pink haired woman, identified as Tonks ("Just Tonks"), was volunteered to help him. Soon enough, they had everything packed and had bounded down the staircase and out the front door.

"It's not safe here anymore, Harry," Lupin started. "The wards weren't as strong as we thought they were. We've evacuated the witches and wizards in this area." He paused. "You did take care of that, Moody?" He asked.

"Figg, Parsons, Harrison. All escorted out." Moody grunted.

"What about Ryou Bakura?" Harry blurted, worried about his friend.

"Who...?" Lupin looked surprised, to say the least. Tonks muttered something about not knowing anything anymore.

"If we leave him here, he could be killed, right? We can't just let that happen, we need to do something!" Harry said worriedly. "Maybe we could take him with us?"

The adults around him looked ready to object whole-heartedly, but after brief consideration, Lupin realized they might have no other choice. All of them were needed to ensure Harry was transported safely, leaving no option for someone to take this Ryou person to a different safe location. Lupin sighed.

"Do you trust this boy, Harry?" He asked firmly. Harry nodded without hesitation. "Where is his house?"

"It's right acoss the street. The yellow one."

"Alright, stay here then. Tonks, Kingsly, cover Harry. I'll be right back." Sprinting across the street, Lupin threw a spell at the locked door and slipped inside.

Sleeping on the couch, he could see, was a head of long white hair huddled beneath several blankets. The head began to stir, groggy for only a second before the boy looked up swiftly and threw himself over the back of the couch, running toward the kitchen to where a variety of knives were hidden.

"Wait! Listen, we have no time. You're in danger if you stay here." Lupin started, trying to placate the startled teen.

"Really?" The boy shot back, venom dripping from the word. "Sorry, but I don't blindly follow strangers when asked."

Lupin exhaled quickly in frustration. "You know of the dementor attack last night, correct?" Ryou, possessed by the spirit, nodded sharply. "More will come, only humans will be with them. You can't stay here."

Considering the man's words, the spirit hastily made a decision. "Make one wrong move, and I won't hesitate to... Defend myself."

Ignoring the blatant threat for now, Lupin nodded his head. "Grab only a few belongings, quickly."

"Done." The spirit snorted, spreading his arms with a smirk on his face.

With no time to be surprised, the other man shrugged. "Parents? Family?"

The spirit gave another amused snort. "Just me."

Sprinting back across the street, Ryou, who had been shoved back in control, shot Harry a soft smile.

"Alright, the portkey is going to activate in thirty seconds!" Moody yelled, producing a surprisingly ordinary pack of gum. Looking to Harry and Ryou, he added, "Hold on like your life depends on it, which it does."

As he latched onto the gum, Ryou wondered idly where they were going. He supposed it didn't matter much.


	2. Chapter 2

3/17/15

ha ha it's been like a year

anyway here's my shit swagg

* * *

Ryou was taken over by the horribly uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed though a tube that was far too small to fit any human body through. As suddenly as the feeling began, however, it ended, and Ryou was left grasping at the air for balance as he was thrown back onto solid ground.

After regaining his balance, Ryou once again went through his standard 'I just woke up and I don't know where I am' procedure.

Any injuries? Nope. Ryou was a little dizzy and was feeling a tad bit sick to his stomach, but overall he was fine.

Is the scene safe? Probably not. The distant sound of a boombox inside one of the houses surrounding him met his ears, letting him know the area was populated, possibly by friends but most likely by enemies.

Can you get to familiar territory? Absolutely impossible.

Ryou decided that protocol was entirely useless in this situation. Heaving a calming breath, he accepted that he was probably going to die here. That, however, did not mean he had to die clueless.

Turning wide-eyed to the man who had broken into his house, Ryou blurted, "Just what the bloody hell was that?"

The man only shook his head and pressed a finger to his lips as he bent down slightly, whispering something to Harry and showing him a scrap of paper. Harry raised an eyebrow in confusion, then looked up. His jaw practically fell to the ground in shock of what he saw. Ryou followed his gaze only to double his own confusion; he saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. After a moment of hesitation and a quick stare of distrust, the man with the paper stepped over to Ryou and showed him the same scrap.

"Read and memorize this. Then look between house numbers eleven and thirteen," the man murmured. The paper read, 'The Order of the Phoenix is located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.'

Immediately after having read the words on the paper, the thing set itself on fire and the man holding it dropped it to the ground. Ryou was severely confused until he looked up at the buildings.

An entirely new building grew between eleven and thirteen, pushing them apart as it gained mass. Wood audibly creaked, foundations rumbled, and Ryou was left gaping at this audacious display of magic.

The white haired boy only had time to mutter an awed "wow" before he was pushed inside the house. Following the lead of the adults, he crept slowly and carefully through the dark and dusty entry hall, doing his best to not make any sound.

"Please make as little noise as possible. We don't want to wake anything up," someone whispered. As soon as they were out of the entry hall, everyone stood straighter and let out a collective sigh of relief. It seemed they were out of the danger zone, whatever that meant.

They were in what appeared to be a cozy parlor, much less dusty than the hall they were in previously. A fireplace glowed in the dim lighting and a few couches and chairs were placed skillfully around the room. A grand staircase leading up could be seen from where Ryou was standing.

Ryou was distracted from his sight seeing when a plump woman with fiery orange hair burst into the room, rushing over to Harry and nearly toppling him over with her embrace.

"Oh, Harry, dear!" She cried. "We were all so worried about you!" One of the men who had come along on the rescue mission, also with violently red hair, walked over to the woman with a soft smile on his face.

"There, there, Molly. Let the boy breathe." He chuckled. The woman huffed and loosened her grip, though only slightly. She then caught sight of Ryou, who was standing off to the side, feeling out of place and more than a little confused.

"And who might this be?" She asked with a careful smile. Ryou could tell she was being cautious, though he also suspected her of being the type of motherly person who would fret over people despite her distrust. Ryou blushed at the sudden attention and bowed deeply.

"My name is Ryou Bakura, and... I'm honestly not sure why I'm here." He said sheepishly, looking like a deer in headlights. "I would really appreciate it if someone could explain the situation to me."

Just like that, a heated debate broke out among the adults.

"This was a bad idea. He could be a spy for all we know!" Someone shot.

"We can't let him know anything more than he already does!" A woman added.

"Look at him! He's obviously confused. I doubt he's a spy." A man countered.

"Quiet!" The man with the odd eye and the wooden leg snapped. The room silenced. He reached into the breast pocket of his coat and displayed a small vial of clear liquid. "The boy is already here. All we can do now is make sure he keeps our secrets." The last sentence was said darkly, the man's true eye staring directly at Ryou. A shudder was immediately sent down Ryou's spine.

The plump woman, Molly, gasped. "Moody, is that... Is that veritaserum?" After a short nod from Moody, she seemed to boil in rage. "That is inhumane! I will not allow you to use that on the poor boy!"

"You're not in charge here, Molly. If you don't cooperate, I'll be forced to stun you." Moody said solemnly. "This is for the security of the Order. It must be done."

Molly turned as red as her hair in anger and with a scowl she left the room. The red-haired man sighed in resignation and nodded toward Moody.

"Alright, boy," Moody started, "I want you to come with me. No trouble, just a few questions."

The spirit, who had been incredibly quiet for the duration of this odd exchange, spoke up. /Host. Do as he says./ After feeling the second-hand surprise roll off of Ryou, he added, /we don't know how powerful these people are. Do what it takes to stay alive./

With a minuscule nod and a nervous gulp, Ryou followed the man through double doors into a large kitchen.

"Sit." The man commanded. Ryou did as he was told. After a moment, a cup of tea drifted through the air and settled itself on the table in front of him. "Drink."

/It's laced with something. Figure out a way to avoid drinking it./

Moody's electric blue eye swiveled around before focusing directly on Ryou. Ryou had a feeling the eye could see much more than what a regular one could.

"I'm not very thirsty, actually. Thank you, though." Ryou said through a polite smile. He knew there was no way that would work the second the words left his mouth.

"I wasn't asking, boy." Moody replied coldly.

/There's nothing I can do. I'm sorry./ Ryou muttered through the mind link. Before Bakura could even think of a reply, Ryou downed the laced tea.

/Fuck! Fuck. Host, do you have any idea what you've done?/ The spirit shrieked.

Ryou found that he simply did not care. He was feeling increasingly numb both inside and out, and wondered vaguely what was happening to him.

"Good." Moody said stiffly. If Ryou were fully conscious, he would have noted the tiny glint of guilt in the man's eye. "Now. Down to business."

The other present members of the Order filed into the kitchen, watching Ryou warily. The boy appeared to be dozing off.

Just outside the room, Harry had just lost an incredibly heated debate with Lupin over whether or not he should be allowed to watch the interrogation. While Harry reasoned he deserved to be there as Ryou was his friend, Lupin maintained that Order business was confidential and could be harmful for Harry to know.

"Just wait outside. We should be done soon." Lupin sighed, attempting to comfort Harry. The boy in question huffed in fury and stalked out of the parlor and up the stairs, baggage in tow.

Lupin sighed again. Harry's temper was so much like his father's.

The werewolf walked into the kitchen and quickly cast a variety of silencing charms on the doors. Turning back to Moody, he nodded.

"Alright, boy. First thing's first. What is your name?" Mad Eye inquired, staring Ryou down.

"Ryou Bakura." The answer seemed to put everyone in the room slightly more at ease; the boy was at least telling the truth about something.

"Where are you from? How old are you?" The Auror followed.

"England, originally. I am fifteen years old." Ryou replied monotonously.

"I hadn't seen him at Hogwarts. He should be around Harry's year, and I would have remembered someone like him." Lupin mused. "Who is teaching you magic, then?"

A flash of awareness shone in Ryou's eyes at that question. Combining wills with Bakura, Ryou barely managed to keep his mouth shut. He could not let these people know about the Millennium Items and the spirits residing within them.

As Ryou's silence stretched, nervousness crept back into the room's occupants. Very few people were able to resist the effects of veritaserum.

"... Fine." Moody grumbled. "Now for the important question. Are you with the Dark Lord Voldemort?" He leaned forward in anticipation.

"I don't know who that is." Ryou mumbled without hesitation. Taken aback, the Order members took a moment to interpret that response.

"Are you a squib then?" Tonks asked incredulously. "Surely you know something about the magical world."

"I don't know what that is." The white haired boy sounded.

"Merlin, is he a muggle?" Tonks turned to Moody and then to Kingsley in panic. "Ryou," she said slowly, "do you possess any magical ability?"

"Yes."

With that answer, a tremendous amount of tension left the room. "I don't understand. How could you not know about the magical community if you possess magic?"

"I've been in Japan for the past seven years." Ryou managed to fudge out any details. His answer was truthful, in any case.

Moody grumbled. "We'll let him stay, for now. We can always obliviate him later and dump him back in that damned muggle neighborhood if he tries anything."

The Order members dispersed after that. Molly returned to the kitchen, looking mildly less upset, and led Ryou up to the only relatively clean bedroom available- Harry and Ron's.

Knocking on the door, the Weasley mother swept open the entrance after a chorus of "come in"s rang through. Harry stood up immediately upon seeing his friend, soon followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Ryou!" Harry called. Before he could say anything else, however, Mrs. Weasley scolded them.

"Ryou has had a very tiring night, and I would _appreciate _it if you three would let him get some sleep," she said, a threat evident in her voice. "Go to bed now, Ryou." She patted his back, gently pushing him in the direction of an empty bed. Hermione scrambled out of the room, followed by Mrs. Weasley.

Not wanting to risk earning the wrath of Mrs. Weasley, Harry and Ron followed suit and quickly fell asleep as well.

* * *

Ryou woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. Never one to stay in bed more than necessary, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and laid them onto the icy tundra that was hardwood floor in the morning. He grimaced, trying to ignore the sting, and walked the few steps to the bedroom door.

He realized, suddenly, that he didn't have the slightest clue as to where the kitchen was or even if he was welcome to leave the room at all. Glancing quickly over to the other beds, he weighed his options. He could wake Harry up and have him escort him to wherever he was supposed to go, or he could just go back to bed and hope someone would come for him.

Ryou hated waiting for things. Padding over to Harry's bed, he gently shook the other boy's shoulder. "Harry? Harry. Harry, wake up," he whispered. Harry woke with a start and stared wide-eyed at Ryou, who was crouched next to his bed.

"What?" Harry asked groggily.

"Could you take me down to the kitchen? I don't know the way yet," Ryou requested sheepishly, running a thin hand through his hair. He realized he probably looked laughably disheveled, what with the hardcore bedhead he was feeling.

"Uh, I'm not actually sure of the way myself, but I guess I can try," Harry offered. Ryou smiled in response, standing up and waiting for Harry to get out of bed.

The Boy Who Lived sighed and forced himself to get up. It felt too damn early to be awake.

It was easy enough to find the staircase; it was huge and at the center of the house. What was harder was trying to figure out which room of the many on the main floor was the kitchen. Luckily, they ran into Mrs. Weasley on the way.

"Oh, Harry, Ryou, you're awake!" The woman smiled. "Follow me, I'm sure you're hungry. Let me make you some breakfast." The two boys eagerly followed.

Soon enough, the two were seated in front of heaping bowls of porridge and plates of traditional breakfast foods. Ryou, suddenly ravenous as he was, ate a generous amount contrary to his usual bird-like diet. Harry ate much more slowly, savoring every bite of his mother figure's cooking.

Once they were finished, Mrs. Weasley spoke up. "How are you feeling, dears?" She asked with a strained smile on her face. She was probably worried sick about the both of them, mainly Harry.

"Much better, now. Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Harry chimed with his first true smile in a long while. The woman patted his head and turned to Ryou.

"And you? Better than last night, I hope?"

Ryou smiled, unused to the attention. "Yes, I'm alright, thank you." He paused for a moment. "Um. Could you maybe explain to me what's going on?" Ryou could hear the desperation in his own voice. He had had enough of being in the dark; he was in the dark practically all his life, what with Bakura shutting him out and his father leaving him behind.

Mrs. Weasley seemed to start. "No one's told you yet?" She said, taken aback. Ryou shook his head. "Well. I'm sure Harry and the others can explain it to you just fine. Why don't you two go wake them up?"

It seemed like a simple answer, but Ryou knew she was being careful to make sure he knew nothing more than what the other children did. Better to let them discuss among themselves, be sure that no new information slipped through. He had experienced this tactic many times with Yugi and his gang.

Ryou carefully pushed his chair back and stood up, still smiling. Harry did the same. "Alright. Come on, Ryou, let's go back upstairs."

On the way back to the room, Ryou felt awake enough to take in his surroundings. The whole place seemed to be covered in a thick coating of dust. The floors creaked, the wallpaper was peeling, and the many pictures lining the walls had cloth covering them. Maybe they were filled with unpleasant memories, Ryou reasoned.

Once back in the safety of the boys' room, Harry strode over to Ron's sleeping form. Taking a pillow from his own bed, he smacked Ron over the head with a soft _thwack_, causing the boy to shoot up from his position. "'Arry, what the hell?" Ron yelled, groggy. Harry just laughed.

"Go down and get some breakfast!" Harry said through his giggles. Ron scowled and smacked him over the head with his own pillow, effectively silencing his best friend.

Not too long later, Ron returned with Hermione in tow.

"Hello! I don't believe we've met before," Hermione greeted to Ryou. "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley." She held out her hand. Ryou grasped it in a firm handshake.

"Ryou Bakura," he said, smiling politely. Hermione giggled slightly and let go of his hand, reaching into the small bag she had at her hip.

"Here, I think you might need this," She said, pulling out a hairbrush. Ryou blushed furiously, taking the brush and moving over to the dusty vanity in the corner of the room. He hadn't even thought to check his appearance, but now that he had, he was horribly embarrassed. His snow white hair was sticking out in every direction, his bangs flying out to one side. Trying to play off his embarrassment, he laughed lightly.

"Oops. Thank you, Hermione," he said, attempting to pull the brush through his hair. Figuring it would take quite a while to tame it, he walked back over to the trio, who had sat on the floor in a little circle. Harry and Hermione scooted apart to make room for him to sit down as well, smiling invitingly. Ryou sat cross-legged, pulling his hair over his right shoulder, still brushing.

"So," Ryou began, "would you mind explaining to me what happened last night?" He asked, looking toward Harry. Harry was silent for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts.

"You wouldn't know about Voldemort, would you?" Harry asked, remembering their first real conversation after the dementor attack. Ron flinched at the name and Ryou shook his head in the negative. "Well, basically he's this crazy mass-murdering undead git who wants to take over the world and kill or enslave all muggles and muggle-borns." The Golden Trio looked at Ryou, waiting for a reaction. Ryou only sighed, never once pausing his hair brushing.

"I guess that's not too different from what I'm used to," Ryou rolled his eyes, thinking back on Battle City. "Continue," he urged, trying to divert attention from his answer.

"About fifteen years ago, he started a war. From what I've heard and read, it was pretty awful. Voldemort came after my parents one night when I was still a baby and killed both of them. When he tried to kill me, his spell backfired and he died instead." Harry took a deep breath here, trying to push out painful memories. Ryou looked sympathetically toward him. "But last year he came back. I saw it happen. And he's after me, not that anyone believes me."

"Okay. So what you're saying is that this Voldemort guy is trying to get revenge on you, and that's why you were taken to safety?" Ryou asked, trying to make sense of what was going on. Harry nodded. "So why was I taken, too?"

"Every wizard and witch in the neighborhood was supposed to be evacuated, but I guess they missed you somehow. I didn't want to leave you behind in case you got attacked again or something."

Ryou nodded. "That makes sense. Okay, this is making sense now. Thank you." He paused for a moment. "So who are these people here? Some resistance group?"

"Yeah, as far as I know. They're called the Order of the Phoenix. Super confidential stuff." Harry shrugged and huffed, still miffed that he wasn't allowed into the interrogation.

"Huh. Can I leave?" Ryou asked. At the questioning looks from the three teenagers in front of him, he added, "I don't feel like getting mixed up in another take-over-the-world scheme. I just want to go home."

/Host, you're not going anywhere. Stay with them./

/Why? This isn't our problem./ Ryou shot back, confused once more. Why did everything have to be so very confusing?

/Now it is./ And just like that, Ryou was stuck in this situation. He sighed outwardly.

"On second thought, it's probably much safer for me here. Besides, I want to know more about magic," Ryou said, resigned. When Bakura wanted something, he damn well got it. It didn't matter if Ryou understood exactly what it was.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, breaking her silence. "You don't know about magic?"

"No. This is all new to me. I can do magic, I just... Don't know anything about it, I guess." Ryou replied, looking off to the side. Hermione seemed personally offended that he didn't know anything about the magical community. She had a look in her eye that said she was going to do her best to change his ignorance. Handing the hairbrush back to Hermione, he said, "again, I would love to learn. I've been in Japan for a long time and I just have never come in contact with this kind of thing." That was a bit of a lie, but it had to be done.

Hermione took the brush and put it back in her bag. She stood up and held out her hand. "Come on! The manor has an amazing library; we can start teaching you things right now!" She had an excited smile on her face that Ryou couldn't say no to, not that he really even wanted to. Taking her hand, he got to his feet and waved goodbye to Harry and Ron, who opted to stay behind.

"Pretty odd bloke, huh?" Ron said with humor. Harry chuckled.

"Yeah. First time I met him, I thought he was a girl." Harry laughed.

"Wait, she- uh, he's not?" Ron exclaimed in complete surprise. "But- I- I guess I was wondering why he'd be sleeping in our room," he said sheepishly.

Someone in the House of Black, Ryou Bakura became inexplicably annoyed.

* * *

"So, will you be attending Hogwarts?" Hermione asked once they arrived at the library.

After a moment of looking around in awe, Ryou answered, "I would like to. I'm not sure if it'd be allowed though, since I have no, er, training in this brand of magic."

"But you said you could to magic!" The bushy haired girl exclaimed.

"A very raw form, yes. It's an ancient art, I'm not supposed to talk about it," Ryou said hesitantly. It was certainly the truth, just not the whole truth. Hermione seemed to accept his answer, though she was probably determined to get him to spill the details sometime.

"Hmm... It couldn't hurt to get you reading some textbooks then..." She mumbled to herself, plucking a few books off of a shelf. A few of the books included _A History of Magic _and _Magical Theory._ "These are both first year textbooks. I think it'd be good to start with these," she said, handing the books to Ryou with a smile. "I think it would be alright for you to look around and choose some other books. I'll be in the corner doing some research for Harry's trial."

Looking around, Ryou often had to brush dust off of the spines of books to be able to read the titles. Most of them sounded interesting, but he figured he should start with simpler ones he was more likely to understand. He picked out _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1_, which Hermione told him was also a first year textbook, and sat down in one of the musty but plush chairs, and began to read.

He could feel Bakura becoming increasingly bored with every passing second. Eventually, he left the Ring, the bright flash dulled significantly by Ryou's shirt, and wandered around invisible to all but Ryou. Or so he thought.

Floating lazily around the corner of a bookcase, Bakura glanced at Hermione, who happened to look up at that moment. To Bakura's utter surprise, she stared straight at him in shock. Pointing toward his chest, the spirit asked, "What, you can actually see me?"

"Of course I can see you! Everyone with magic can see ghosts," Hermione replied nervously. She gave a breathy laugh. "Um, Ryou? Is that you?"

Ryou had run over to Hermione's side of the room the second Bakura spoke up. He was currently standing just to the side of where Bakura floated, staring in shock with his mouth gaping. "No one's ever been able to see him, though!" Ryou exclaimed.

"Like I said, people with magic have the ability. Is he haunting you or something? Why haven't any of us seen him yet?" Hermione asked, recovering from her fright.

"I'm... A past relative of Ryou's," Bakura said slowly. This was such an odd situation and for once he didn't know how to react. "I've been stuck to a pendant he owns for a very long time."

"Oh! Well, welcome to the manor, I suppose. Erm, how does that work, if you don't mind me asking?" The girl seemed genuinely intrigued about their situation, and the two Bakuras had to think fast to get around it.

"I live in the pendant. That's really all there is to it," Bakura said. He chose that time to disappear back into the Ring, leaving Ryou to deal with the situation.

"I'd rather not discuss it. Sorry," Ryou said, still in shock. "This is so weird. I've never had anyone be able to see him before."

"Well, there are tons of ghosts at Hogwarts. Everyone there can see them; we all live in a sort of harmony. Some of them are even strong enough with all the magic in the air to interact with physical objects."

/I don't like this./ Ryou thought.

/I think I might./ Bakura thought back. /Being able to interfere with the living without having to possess your weak body? That sounds pretty damn good to me./

Ryou scowled slightly. This was all becoming very complicated. "I'm going back to studying!" He stated, trying not to leave any room for arguing. Once he was absorbed in his books again, Hermione quietly left the room to tell Harry and Ron what had just happened.

Ryou Bakura was odd, indeed.

* * *

ive always wondered why no one in these fanfics could ever see the spirits of the hella items. like. theyre ghosts right? weird


	3. Chapter 3

apparently ghosts and spirits arent the same things lol i fucked up

ps sorry for short chapter two jobs three cats no time

* * *

"So he's _possessed_?" Ron asked, incredulous.

He, Harry, and Hermione were once again sitting in the boys' room. After witnessing Ryou's ghost manifest itself, she had gone immediately to talk to her friends about it. It was odd, is all; it's not every day you meet a boy with a ghost.

"No, Ron, his _pendent_ is possessed," Hermione replied with a huff. Honestly, these boys could be so dense sometimes. "But that's just another bullet to add to the list of weird things about Ryou."

"What, like his hair?" The red head joked. Hermione hit him over the head.

"No! I mean the fact that he claims to have never been to a magic school, yet is still versed in an apparently different form of magic than what we use," Hermione shot back. "It's just plain odd!"

"Hermione's right," Harry sighed, "I thought for sure he was just some ordinary kid when I met him. Guess I was wrong to assume things. We should keep an eye on him."

"Yeah! Make sure he doesn't try anything funny," Ron said.

The three got up, planning to meet Ryou in the house's library. Hermione had left him alone for long enough; she realized, too late, that he could easily get into something he wasn't supposed to. They rushed across the house.

When they opened the door to the library, they were met with quite the sight. Ryou was sitting in one chair, reading what appeared to be a first year textbook. Sitting in the adjacent chair, however, was a transparent someone who looked exactly like Ryou (albeit with messier hair and a less friendly look on his face). The spirit, Bakura, was also reading, with Ryou turning the pages of his book at the appropriate times.

"Bloody hell, they do look like twins!" Ron exclaimed, startling Ryou out of his reading. The spirit merely grunted, motioning for Ryou to turn the page again.

"Sorry, Ryou. Harry and Ron wanted to join me in my research," Hermione said. Ryou didn't buy one ounce of that story, but he couldn't do anything about her intrusions so he decided to just accept it.

Ryou smiled. "Go right on ahead. We're just doing a little reading."

The trio settled themselves in a corner where they could just barely see the two doing their own research. Harry and Ron made to whisper about them some more, but Hermione put a stop to their gossiping by dropping a large book onto the table in front of them.

"We have work to do! No time for chatting," Hermione scolded, handing both of them books on wizarding law.

They spent the next four hours brooding over dusty books and taking notes to help Harry win his trial. Hermione's notes were, of course, detailed and precise, where as Harry's were barely legible and Ron's were simply impossible to read. Ryou got up every once and a while to grab new books for himself and Bakura, but otherwise didn't do much. Bakura eventually got bored and disappeared back into the Ring.

Ron, asleep on a pile of books, was startled awake when Ryou walked over. "I'd say it's about time for lunch. Care to join me?" He asked, trying to be as polite as possible. He really didn't want to make these people his enemies.

Ron shot up from his seat at the mention of food with a cheer. "Yes! Let's go eat!"

After a few affirmations from Harry and Hermione, the four of them stepped out of the library and went across the main hall and into the kitchen. They fixed up a small pile of sandwiches and sat down to eat.

"So, Ryou," Harry began, "Do you think you'll be going to Hogwarts?"

Ryou paused to nibble on his sandwich and think. "I would like to, I think. I'm just not sure if it'd be allowed."

"Hogwarts has never turned away a student with talent!" Hermione said proudly. "I'm sure you'll be invited. Maybe next Order meeting you can ask Professor Mcgonagall about it. She'd be the older witch with her hair in a bun. She's the Deputy Headmistress of Howarts." She smiled warmly at Ryou, trying to reassure him he'd be fine.

"That's a good idea. Thank you," Ryou said earnestly. He could feel a wave of satisfaction from Bakura; going to Hogwarts must have been part of whatever plan he had thought up.

At that moment, a tall man with scruffy black hair walked into the kitchen. "Sirius!" Harry yelled in joy. He jumped up from his seat and went over to hug the man, who seemed just as happy to see Harry.

After the embrace, the man turned to Ryou, who stood up. "I don't believe we were introduced last night. I'm Sirius Black, the owner of the house." Sirius smiled bitterly, spreading his arms.

"Ryou Bakura. It's a pleasure," Ryou replied with a smile, holding out his hand. Sirius took it and shook it earnestly before apologizing for Moody's behavior.

"It's alright. You have reason to be suspicious of me, especially in these times."

"Oh, so the situation was explained to you then?" Sirius inquired with a smile. "I'm glad you weren't left in the dark for too long."

"Again, you have reason to be distrustful of strangers. I don't blame you at all," Ryou assured him. Truthfully, he was just used to being told nothing, being ignored. He felt a pang of residual guilt from the back of his mind that couldn't possibly be coming from Bakura. Right?

"Perfect! Are you getting along well with Ron and Hermione? I believe you're already friends with Harry, right?" The scruffy man seemed genuine in his interest, something Ryou was unused to.

Ryou glanced back at the trio, all of whom were smiling back at him. "Yes. I'm having fun. Thank you for letting me stay here, by the way."

"It's not a problem at all!" Sirius said. His face then darkened some as he leaned forward. "Just don't cause us any issues, or you might have an... Unfortunate accident."

Ryou was supremely taken aback for a moment before Sirius burst into laughter. "I'm just joking, just joking!" He clapped Ryou on the shoulder before walking out of the kitchen, a cup of tea following behind him.

"Er, sorry about that," Harry said with a small laugh.

"Not at all! That was funny," Ryou replied as he brought his left and up to his mouth to cover his own giggle. Ron gasped.

"What happened to your hand, mate?" He exclaimed, pointing to the dark, circular scar that nearly covered the back of Ryou's hand. Ryou turned it around to show that the scar went through on both sides, blushing. Hermione smacked Ron.

"Ronald! That was so rude!" She scolded. Ron rubbed his head.

"Sorry, I guess." He muttered, rolling his eyes.

"It's fine. I just... Tripped and fell on a model tower is all," Ryou lied through his teeth. He absolutely would not tell them the truth- that Bakura had intentionally stabbed his left hand on a tower in Monster World to stop Ryou from taking control. Nor would he tell them that he had sealed his soul in a pair of dice and had died in that game. That would certainly not put either of them in a good light.

"Huh. Any other cool scars?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione smacked him over the head again.

"Ron!"

"Don't worry about it," Ryou laughed, rolling up his left sleeve to show a large slash-like scar. "This is from when I was stabbed during a tournament. It was pretty bad."

"Blimey..." Ron said quietly. "That's sweet!" Ryou blushed again.

"Well, I think I'm going to go take a nap. I'm pretty tired." Ryou told them.

"Alright, see you later, then." Harry smiled, waving. "D'you think you can find your way back to the room?"

"I should be able to, thank you. I have Bakura to help me." The white haired boy replied, giving a short wave back.

As it turned out, the trip back was fairly easy with Bakura giving him directions. Once back in the bedroom, Ryou crawled onto his bed and leaned back against the wall. Bakura appeared next to him.

"I understand why they're so distrustful of me, but..." Ryou began, eyes downcast.

"It still sucks?" Bakura finished. The spirit made the motion of putting a hand on Ryou's shoulder, though he couldn't actually touch him.

Ryou gave a short laugh. "Bingo. It feels like Battle City all over again."

"Don't worry about Battle City," Bakura scoffed. He then became slightly more serious. "That was all on me, okay? You're a fucking idiot if you still blame yourself for that. And the Pharaoh and his friends trust you now, right?"

Ryou brought his knees up and buried his face into them. "All it took was..." Bakura groaned, then wrapped his arms around Ryou.

"Trying to gank yourself did nothing, okay? It was all you and your..." Bakura seemed to pause to search for words. "Your sparkling personality, I guess."

Ryou sighed. Bakura was never good at being emotional, but at least he was trying. "Thanks, Bakura. I think I'll take that nap now."

Nodding, Bakura disappeared back into the Ring. Ryou fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

Ryou had been sitting on his bed in his soul room for some time when three harsh knocks came from his door. Bakura had never come into his soul room before; he had never shown any interest, either. But there's a first for everything, Ryou supposed, and the time had come for this one.

"Come in," Ryou called hesitantly. He had no idea what Bakura could possibly want.

His darker half cautiously entered the room, taking it in. It was a nearly exact replica of his bedroom in Domino; it had the same carpet, the same bed in one corner, the same desk against the far wall. The only differences were that the wall furthest from the door was a pitch black, contrasting heavily with the sky blue of the other three. On this black wall stood pictures of his mother and Amane, his old friends, the knife he used to... That wasn't important. Ryou supposed that wall represented all of his personal darkness and other such depressing garbage.

"Like what you see?" Ryou asked with a joking smile. Bakura gave a short, gruff laugh.

"It's very... Small," the man said, thinking of the vast expanse of sand that was his own soul room. He walked over to the desk and turned the chair around to face his light and sat down. Ryou sat up in his bed in preparation for what Bakura had to say.

"Well?" Ryou urged.

"I feel..." Bakura paused, his lips curling up slightly. "Guilty, I guess. For not telling you anything." Ryou laughed.

"Is that all? You know I don't care about that," the boy laughed, slightly forced. Bakura gave him a hard stare. "Okay, so I don't like it. I don't like it at all. But I've accepted that that's my reality here."

Bakura slammed his fist down on his knee. "It's my fault that you're so used to being in the dark!" He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down some. "I felt like it was time to let you in on some of my plans."

Ryou felt his eyebrows raise almost off of his head. "This is new."

"I know. Shut up, or I'll change my mind," the thief growled, looking away. Ryou nodded. "I had a dream about a school of magic. I'm pretty damn sure it was Hogwarts."

"You had a dream? So you dropped us all the way across the ocean?" Ryou asked, incredulous. Surely his dark was going mad again.

"Shut up! I've learned to trust my instincts, alright? I've been having this dream for months now, it was pissing me off, and something tells me it's important shit," Bakura spat.

"So what's the dream even about?" The white haired boy asked, leaning his cheek on his hand. Bakura sighed.

"Just flashes of things, nothing complete. It's been becoming clearer as time goes on though; I saw that Potter kid's face, a huge castle, things like that," Bakura stopped himself and seemed to consider something. "I also saw you smile. An actual smile, not those stupid fake ones you use. I figured maybe following the dream would make you happier."

Ryou blushed for a reason he wasn't quite sure of. "T-thanks, I guess." He exhaled. "Is that all you came in here for?"

Bakura seemed to have some sort of internal battle with himself before he got up from his chair. Ryou thought he was going to leave for a moment before he walked forward and stopped in front of Ryou's bed.

"I also wanted to apologize," he muttered. Ryou gaped. "Look, I know this doesn't excuse anything I've done to you, but just." Bakura huffed. "When I was alive, I attached part of my soul to Zorc. I did it for power and revenge. The reason I've been less, I don't know, evil? Conniving? Whatever. It's because when the pharaoh defeated me, he killed the part of me that was still Zorc. Now I guess it's just me."

"Oh," was all Ryou could say. "That's... Good, I suppose."

Bakura gave a humorless laugh. "Yeah. Good." He then did something Ryou doubted either of them expected and wrapped his arms around his counterpart. "I'm sorry. And I'll never let anyone or anything hurt you ever again."

Bakura rushed out of the room after a fraction of a second, not looking back.

* * *

Several days had passed in Grimmauld Place, spent researching and cleaning and chatting idly. The days turned into weeks and, finally, it was time for Harry's trial. Mr. Weasley gently shook Harry and, surprisingly, Ryou awake at some ungodly hour of the morning.

"Time to wake up!" The man whispered with a strained smile. "We can't be late for the trial."

Ryou looked up at him, groggy. "Why... Why am I going?" He muttered.

"You need to testify as a witness. I'm sorry this is so late notice; we only received word last night."

This had the white haired boy jolting awake. Surely he had heard wrong. He was going to have to testify? With no preparation? He could feel the day going badly already.

Nevertheless, he forced himself up. If it was for Harry, he could do it. Or fail miserably.

They met again down in the foyer, where several of the wizards and witches who had escorted Harry and Ryou to the house were waiting. Tonk's hair was changing colors rapidly, her face forcibly relaxed.

With a hand on Harry's shoulder, Mr. Weasley lead them out of the house and to what Ryou felt would be their doom.

* * *

The more lively inhabitants of the house of Black danced around the sitting room in some semblance of a conga line, chanting, "He got off! He got off!" with large grins on their faces. Harry was sitting on a couch, an overwhelming look of relief on his face. Hermione sat next to him, chatting animatedly while Ron lead the dancing. Ryou stood off to the side, feeling a little out of place.

Someone shouted, "Let's break out the firewhiskey!" and Ryou took that as his cue to leave. He had studying to do, after all, and parties tended to unsettle him.

He nestled himself in his usual chair and propped open a third year textbook, beginning to read. After a minute or so, the Spirit appeared in the chair next to his. Ryou set a book on the stand next to the Spirit's chair, opening it to a bookmarked page.

They read in silence for an hour or two, thumps and excited shouts filtering over from the sitting room. Then Bakura became bored.

"Hey, Landlord," Bakura said carelessly. "What do you say we go explore this house a little bit?"

"That sounds like the idea that will finally get me killed," Ryou huffed. With all the magical creatures and traps that were sure to be hiding, he was lucky he hadn't died yet.

The Spirit scowled and floated into a standing position. "Fine. I guess I'll just go alone, then," he said flippantly, shrugging. Ryou visibly struggled with his options for a moment before sighing and putting his book aside.

"Wait, I'll come with," the white haired boy muttered, causing the Spirit to gain a wicked grin.

Before they could get anywhere, however, a loud shriek stopped Ryou in his tracks. "That sounded distressed. I'm going to go see what that was," Ryou said, eyes wide and startled. He walked past the Spirit and motioned for him to disappear. Bakura grunted, rolling his eyes, but complied.

Ryou took off running down the hall, following echoing sobs that came from what he eventually found to be the drawing room. Just inside the doorway sat Mrs. Weasley, crying hysterically and waving her wand at the mutilated body of Ron Weasley.

"R-Ridikulus!" She choked out. Her efforts only succeeded in causing the boggart to change into the body of Ginny, similarly mutilated and also dead.

Ryou took a step forward and put a hand on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, gently shaking her. At that moment, several partiers arrived behind the boy. Ryou heard gasps of shock and the sound of clothes rustling. He supposed it was someone bringing out their wand.

Just as someone was about to shout the spell, the dead Ginny's eyes flew open and focused on Ryou. It took only a second for it to begin morphing into something dark; the color sent shivers down Ryou's back, made his knees shake. He wasn't sure why.

Before the boggart could fully manifest, Lupin yelled out, "Ridikulus!" with confidence, transforming it into a small figurine on the ground. A figurine that held great significance to Ryou. Before he could do anything, Lupin waved his wand and floated the figurine back into the desk where it came from, supposedly with the intention of dealing with it later.

Mrs. Weasley's children rushed forward to hug her, her husband at their head. She visibly relaxed. Ryou, however, could not remember feeling so disturbed in months.

The figurine was an exact match to the one he kept in his left pocket, always.

Dark Master Zorc.


End file.
